Ms G’s, Potts Point

Sydney is going through a purple patch of new bars and restaurants. A slew of younger chefs are opening up restaurants and cooking food which is in their comfort zones but at the same time stretching the boundaries of contemporary cuisine. You have places which are churning out restaurant quality hot dogs and fried chicken, food which you would find on a corner takeaway shop sitting in a bain maree.

Walk upstairs to the bar

Ms G’s opened to a lot of hype. Everyone was excited about Dan Hong’s next project following the success of Lotus, this time partnering up with Jowett Yu. We all saw what they could churn out at Lotus. Dan, He’s a young chef who is in tune with culinary trends around the world (if you follow his Twitter, he goes around the world searching for inspiration) but also a guy who treks out to Cabramatta for a bowl of noodles in a hole in a wall joint which I’ve been frequenting for 20 odd years since I was a kid.

This blog post is long overdue, we’ve been to Ms G’s a few times since it has opened but we just never got around to writing about it. My memory might be a bit hazy when it comes to describing the dishes and the menu might’ve even changed since our visit. However, just enjoy looking at the photos taken by Minh and get a feel of what Ms G’s is capable of churning out.

Cocktails

Cocktails are served in bubble tea cups, with the wrapping and all. Its a nice and quirky touch, definitely gets people talking and for us, brings back memories of university at UTS where we use to frequent Easyway at least once a day. Subsequent blood tests ruled us all out with diabetes.

Mini bánh mì - crisp pork belly & chicken katsu

Mini versions of Vietnamese pork rolls, at $6 a pop. I’m use to my $3 fix at Cabramatta every few weeks so these were a little hard to swallow. Price aside, I ended up going for seconds as we ordered another plate. Its everything a pork roll should be, a generous slab of meat and pate mixed with pickles, what I assume is sriracha mayo, cucumber and coriander. I prefer the katsu, but others prefer the pork belly. Do what we did and just order both.

grilled corn on the cob, parmesan, lime

When seeing this on the menu, you wouldn’t usually give it a second look. But we received a tip off that this was a must order dish, which I agree with. I’m not sure what it is, but this corn has a unique flavour which is quite addictive. Its beyond the combination of parmesan and lime, it might be a type of seasoning they use. Either way, you can’t leave Ms G’s without ordering this.

Prawn toast, yuzu aioli, herbs

Prawn toast, the ultimate “gwai lo” dish. At least here, they go beyond the food court attempts with a yuzu aioli and various herbs such as coriander and Vietnamese mint (I think).

Fried baby chicken, Kimchi Mayonnaise

Another must order, succulent fried chicken with a subtle but strong kimchi mayo.

grilled beef tongue, lemongrass and tomato salsa

I’ve grown up eating ox tongue in laos cuisine so I’m always curious to see it on restaurant menus outside of Fairfield Lao restaurants. I think they strength of this dish is also the contrasting flavours and textures. The lemongrass and tomato salsa give strong flavours but the peanuts give it a a great crunch.

sambal cod with lime

Stir fried rice noodles, wagyu beef, chilli, herbs, peanuts

I’ve had the noodles here a few times now and its probably the one dish type which isn’t as strong as the other ‘franchise’ dishes such as banh mi and fried chicken. But hey, it’s just noodles right?

Give me this dessert any day over something elegant like a souffle or tarte tatin. The combination of textures and flavour was flawless, the only thing missing was washing this down with a hot cup of coffee.

Pandan chiffon cake, strawberries, coconut sorbet

One word, underrated. When we look around we see a lot of people order Stoner’s Delights but not much love for this chiffon cake. Its actually a fantastic dessert, reminds me of the desserts I had in Hong Kong which do the whole tapioca pearls and coconut thing very well. My favourite part is probably the warm chiffon cake with the slightly crunchy top. Linda liked this dish so much she tried making it at home (but failed haha!), check it out here.

“Splice” Pine-Lime granita, lychee sorbet, whipped cream

A well oiled machine

Thanks for being patient with the photo spam.

Ms G’s is new, edgy and is one of the many new restaurants run by “20 somethings” who are redefining the casual dining scene in Sydney. We’ve seen Duke Bistro, The Norfolk Hotel and Do the Dip amongst others try to do something unique which I think is great for Sydney diners who want a bit of change. 2011 seems to be the year for this new dining scene, I just hope it doesn’t become over saturated with “dude food” restaurants.

One thing I might add is that dishes here are meant for sharing. Its quite easy to rack up an expensive bill here and still walk away with room in your stomach for more food. Also, be prepared to wait as there is a no booking policy. Diners seem to have divided opinions on this, but get there early enough and you’ll have less hassles.

I was a bit disheartened after a necessary 30 minute wait on a Monday night… but your post has re-motivated me The seafood looks particularly good, and sure will remember to leave space for dessert.
Is the pandan chiffon cake the new Quay snow egg…???

I loved our meal at Ms G’s and am desperate to go back…maybe in a year when the crowds die down tho. I failed at being a Gwai Lo and didn’t order the prawn toast so need to rectify that. And the Splice was my favouirte dessert (we tried them all too).

This place is great – and I like how they keep mixing some of the dishes up (which is also sad when you come back and it’s not there anymore!). And I agree the pandan dessert was delicious – all the textures and different temperatures, yummm!!